Apparatus for treating cloth with liquid

ABSTRACT

A liquid flow type treating apparatus for treating cloth with liquid in which a staying chamber of treating liquid is provided inside of an axially extending drum shaped vessel, an overflow transfer mechanism and a driving reel are furnished inside of an accommodating cylinder provided in an upper end portion of the vessel, a guide tube connects the overflow transfer mechanism with the staying chamber, and a liquid falling mechanism prevents cloth transferred through the guide tube into the staying chamber from floating up in the staying chamber, so that any unevenness in the cloth is avoided and a uniform treatment of cloth is obtained.

States atet Kawasaki et al. Jan. 1, 1974 [5 APPARATUS FOR TREATING CLOTH3.30l,026 1 1967 Mason m H]. 68/177 WITH UQUHD 2,978.29] 4/1961Fahringer 68/177 ux [75] Inventors: Takuji Kawasaki; Sholri Ogihara;

Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlm Mlkno Watanabe, all of F uku1, JapanAtmmey Toren and McGeady [73] Assignees: Sakai Sen-I Kogyo KabushikiKaisha, Fukui-shi, Fukui-ken; llllokuriku Kalrolki Kabushiki Kaisha,[57] ABSTRACT Komatsu-shh ishikawa'ken, Japan A liquid flow typetreating apparatus for treating cloth [22] Filed: Dem 29 1971 withliquid in which a staying chamber of treating liquid is provided insideof an axially extending drum PP 2139414 shaped vessel, an overflowtransfer mechanism and a driving reel are furnished inside of anaccommodating 52] us. c1. 68/177, 68/184 cylindeiprovided in an upperend Portion of the [51 1 int. Cl. BOSc 3/02 f a tube connects theoverflow a f f [58] Field at Search 68/177, 176, 175, the staymg amber,and a fallmg 68/184 179 mechanism prevents cloth transferred through theguide tube into the staying chamber from floating up [56] RekrencesCited in the staying chamber, so that any unevenness in the UNITEDSTATES PATENTS cltoth isdavoided and a uniform treatment of cloth is otame 3,659,438 5/1972 Matsuhei Chiba et al 68/177 2,203,678 6/1940Dursteler 68/175 X 6 Ciaims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN H974 FIG. I

FIG. 3

FIG. 2

l l I l l l lLLLLL m APPARATUS FOR TREATING CLOTH WITH LIQUID BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a LOCO type overflow systemcloth treating apparatus for treating textile materials, such as cloth,with liquid and is applicable to all kinds of fabrics, woven andnon-woven cloth, rovings, tops, natural or synthetic fabrics, such ascotton, wool, rayon, nylon, etc. These will hereinafter be referred togenerally as cloth. The invention is applicable to various forms of wettreatment such as washing, dyeing, fulling, milling, scouring, or othertreatments in which material is contacted with a liquid.

There are many known forms of apparatus for treating cloth such as winchtreating apparatus, jigger treating apparatus, beam treating apparatus,and jet dyeing treating apparatus, which are operable in a pressurizedcondition or in a non-pressurized condition.

When cloth is treated by means of winch treating apparatus, the cloth isstretched strongly in the longitudinal direction only, so that thelongitudinal and transverse contractions are different, causing the feelof the cloth to deteriorate, and at the same time the wrinkles arefixed, causing creases in the gray, and the creases produced in the graycould not be removed perfectly in the finishing operation. Suchphenomena is notable as the temperature and pressure increase.

In the case where the cloth is to be treated using jigger treatingapparatus, no creases are produced in the gray, but the cloth wound upon rolls is compressed excessively, and its feel deterioratesconsiderably.

When the cloth is treated by means of beam treating apparatus,differences in winding pressure are found at the inner portion and theouter portion of the cloth wound on the beam, causing uneven dyeing, andthe so-called craping effect could not be obtained.

In case the cloth is to be treated by means of jet dyeing treatingapparatus, since the cloth to be treated is transferred by a highpressure jet stream through a bent tube, the transfer condition is notrational, and the production of creases in gray or wrinkles could not beavoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention isto provide an apparatus for treating cloth with liquid, by decreasingthe tension in the cloth to be treated as much as possible, andpreventing creation of creases in the gray which have acute angles andfolded forms, so as to obtain a favourable feel with a soft andwool-like touch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus, wherein the cloths to be treated in the liquid are notexposed to any strong tensile or compressive forces as in the case ofthe winch treating apparatus or in the jigger treating apparatus.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus wherein the cloth to be treated is contacted with the liquidfor as long as possible, and, at the same time, a large quantity ofcloth can be treated in the apparatus.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvedapparatus in which bubbling at the contacting area between the cloth andthe treating liquid is eliminatedor or reduced substantially.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvedapparatus which can be operated with a relatively small driving power byavoiding the utilization of a high energy as in the case of the jettreating apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in whichthe material to be treated is formed in a loose endless band orrope-like structure and is continuously circulated through theapparatus. Part of the path of the material through the apparatus may beextended along a confined passage or guide tube through which thetreating liquid is caused to flow in the direction of feeding of thematerial, whereby the material is transferred through the passage in asmoothly elongated but substantially untensioned condition.

Still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for thewet treatment of textile material, such as cloth, comprising a treatingvessel to contain the treating liquid, means to cause the flow ofastream of the treating liquid through the apparatus, and means forentrain the material in the liquid stream to transport the material.

Preferably, the apparatus includes an elongated and confined transferpassage or a guide tube, and the material and the liquid stream arecaused to flow through the passage or guide tube. Preferably, theapparatus also includes a driving reel to feed the material to thepassage.

More particularly, the invention is to provide an apparatus having adevice for preventing the floating-up of cloth to be treated in a LOCOtype overflow system cloth treating apparatus. The LOCO type overflowsystem cloth treating apparatus is constituted as follows: anaccommodating cylinder for a cloth driving mechanism extends verticallyat the end portion of a drumshaped vessel extending longitudinally inaxial direction, a liquid reservoir is provided near the communicatingportion between the accommodating cylinder and the drum-shaped vessel, acloth driving reel is provided above the liquid reservoir and inside theaccommodating cylinder, a dropping port of a guide tube is providedbelow the cloth driving reel in the liquid reservoir, and the edge ofthe dropping port is positioned below the upper edge of the reservoir,the guide tube, one end of which serves as the dropping port, ispositioned at the upper portion in the drum-shaped vessel and in axialdirection thereof, while the other end is opened at the lower portion ofthe other end of staying chambers provided in the drum-shaped vessel,and further, a perforated plate is arranged at the end portion of thestaying chambers, and one end of a liquid circulating pipe is opened atthe lower portion of the space formed between the perforated plate andthe end plate portion of the vessel, and the other end of the tube isopened in the liquid reservoir.

The cloth treating apparatus having the abovedescribed construction,operates as follows: the endless rope-shaped cloth stretched over thecloth driving reel and passed into the guide tube and passed around inthe drum-shaped vessel, is transferred into the guide tube together withthe liquid stream falling into the dropping port of the guide tube fromthe reservoir, and the cloth is spread in the liquid by means of theliquid stream from the opening of the guide tube which is located at theother end of the staying chamber, and after the cloth was made to floatand to move up and down in the liquid stream in the staying chamber,then the cloth is drawn up.

In the cloth treating apparatus using liquid of the LOCO type overflowsystem, the cloth is caused to stay in the liquid stream in the axiallyextending drumshaped vessel for a comparatively long time, so thatsufficient time can be allowed for dyeing.

Since the staying time is thus relatively long, the cloth, in a flowingstate, consist of two parts; a part immersed in liquid, and a partfloating-up from the surface of the liquid. There occurs a difference ofadsorption between the parts which are immersed and which are floatedup, and this difference produces unevenness in treatment.

Thus, in the present invention, a liquid falling mechanism is providedabove the staying chamber inside the vessel, whereby the floating-up ofthe cloth by the treating solution flowing down from the liquid fallingmechanism is prevented and the unevenness of treatment is eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sidesectional elevation of the device according to the present invention,FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a part along a line lI-ll in FIG. 1,and FIG. 3 is an enlarged-sectional view showing a liquid fallingmechanism portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The apparatus according to thepresent invention will now be described referring to the drawings. Thepresent device has the external appearance ofa locomotive boiler, andtwo chambers are defined longitudinally by dividing the boiler drum witha partition wall. Two guide tubes are arranged corresponding to the twochambers.

The axially elongated drum-shaped vessel 1 is closed at one end portion2 with an end plate 3 and with an openable cover 4 connected with theend plate 3, and at the other end 5 of the vessel 1, with an end plate6. An accommodating cylinder 8 provided with a cloth driving mechanism 7there in is provided on the one end portion 2 of the drum-shapedvessel 1. The drum-- shaped vessel 1 and the accommodating cylinder 8are in communication at the connecting portion and the parts are sealedclosely together.

In this case, the drum-shaped vessel 1 is installed so that it slopesslightly downwardly toward the one end portion 2.

The cloth driving mechanism 7 which is provided internally of theaccommodating cylinder 8, comprises a cloth driving reel 9 rotated by anappropriate driving mechanism (not shown) and an overflow transferringmechanism 10 and the cloth driving reel 9 is disposed perpendicular tothe axis of the drum-shaped vessel 1. The overflow transferringmechanism 10 of the cloth a is arranged below the cloth driving reel 9,and it includes a liquid reservoir 11 defined at the connecting portionof the drum-shaped vessel 1 and the accommodating cylinder 8. The liquidreservoir 11 contains an open end of a guide tube 14, the upwardlydirected edge of the dropping port 13 of the guide tube 14 is locatedbelow the upper edge 12 of the liquid reservoir 11, and an opening 18 ofa circulating pipe 17 opens into the liquid reservoir 11, the lower end15 of the circulating pipe 17 is open near the end portion 2 of thedrum-shaped vessel through a pump 16.

The guide tube 14 passes from the dropping port 13, penetrating the sidewall of the liquid reservoir 11, bending and extending linearly throughthe upper inside portion of the drum-shaped vessel 1, and is bent nearthe other end thereof. The linear portion of the guide tubes 14 areformed in a tuck-like configuration having a rectangular section. Byselecting the section as a simple polygon such as triangle or squareform, forming of twines, twists of wrinkles due to the flow ofliquid isprevented, and the transfer of cloth a passing through the guide tube 14is effected more smoothly. The reason that such a polygonal section canbe adopted is that, when the apparatus according to the presentinvention in operated, the internal and external pressures in the guidetube become equal, and thus sufficient strength is maintained even withthe square tube.

Two longitudinally extending staying chambers 24, 24 are defined by avertical partition wall 19 extending axially in the lower part of thedrum-shaped vessel 1, an end wall 20, a perforated bottom plate 21, thegap between this plate 21 and the bottom of the vessel 1 increasinggradually toward the end portion 2, and a perforated bent plate 22continuing from the perforated bottom plate 21 and sloping upwardlytoward the end portion 2. Further, a preforated defining wall 23 isprovided in parallel with the perforated bent plate 22.

The opening 15 of the circulating pipe 17 is positioned in the space 25at the lower portion of the end portion 2 on the bottom of vessel 1. Thelower ends of the guide tubes 14, 14 form openings 26, 26 through theend wall 20 corresponding to the staying chambers 24, 24, respectively.

In the drawing, the numeral 27 designates the openable top cover of theaccommodating cylinder 8 and serves for charging the discharging of thecloth. The numeral 28 designates a heat exchanger.

A liquid falling mechansim 30 is arranged above said staying chambers24, 24, and includes troughs 29, 29 which extend in the breadthwisedirection of said chambers 24, 24 above the chambers. Both ends of thesetroughs 29, 29 are closed, their cross sections are substantiallyV-shaped, and they are suspended from the supply pipes 31, 31,respectively. The supply pipes 31, 31 are positioned above the stayingchambers 24, 24 and slightly above and parallel to the troughs 29, 29 sothat the supply pipes 31, 31 can supply liquid to the troughs 29, 29.The supply pipes 31, 31 are formed with a large number of dischargeholes 32, 32, on the lower surface. These supply pipes 31, 31 areconnected to a distributing pipe 33, which extends vertically throughthe roof of the vessel 1, and is connected to the base portion of abranch pipe 34 located outside of the vessel 1. The branch pipe 34 iscommunicated with the circulating pipe 17.

The upper portion of the reservoir 11 is opened freely.

The present apparatus operates as follows:

A required quantity of dyeing liquid is introduced into the stayingchamber 24. An endless rope-shaped cloth a is put on the driving reel 9and is passed through the liquid in the staying chamber 24 and throughthe guide tube 14. Then the dyeing liquid in the staying chamber 24 issupplied through the circulating pipe 17 by the pump 16 to the liquidreservoir 11. The dyeing liquid thus supplied is increased, and theliquid soon overflows the edge of the dropping port 13 of the guide tube14 and falls thereinto, and at the same time entrains the endlessrope-shaped cloth a into the guide tube 14. A stream is created throughthe guide tube by a gravitational head difference between the liquidlevel in the reservoir 11 and that in the vessel 1. The cloth atransferred with the dyeing liquid flow passes through the linearportion of the guide tube 14, and changes its course at the bentportion, and is discharged through the opening 26 into one of thestaying chambers 24. Then the cloth a is directed into the liquid of thestaying chamber 24 from the other end 5 toward the end portion 2, andthe cloth a floats and makes an up-anddown motion longitudinally. Sincethe cloth a is kept in the liquid a relatively long time, it is afavorable condition for dyeing, and a sufficient treating time can besecured. Thus in the treatment, the cloth a, joined into an endlessconfiguration, is circulated, in the form of a rope-shaped structure,through a guide tube 14 into a chamber 24, in which the cloth a isspread, by means of the flowing liquid, into an extended form. lt shouldbe noted that the cloth a thus spread in the liquid in the chamber 24tends to float in the liquid and passes along a zig-zag course in theup-and-down directions within the treating liquid while it istransferred from one end to the other of the vessel 1 under the actionof the flowing liquid. ln this case, the circulating liquid branchedfrom the circulating pipe 17 is delivered through a branch pipe 34,distributing pipe 33, and a supply pipes 31, 31 into the troughs 29, 29,through discharge holes 32, and the liquid supplied into the troughs 29,29 increases in quantity gradually, and overflows from the upper edgesof the troughs 29 and falls into the staying chambers 24, where itcontacts the cloth a flowing on the surface of the liquid.

- Accordingly, when the cloth a tends to float up on the liquid, it issubmerged beneath the liquid by a part of the circulating liquid fallingfrom the trough 29, so that the floating-up of the cloth is prevented.

During this time, the dyeing liquid in the staying chamber 24 flows intothe space 25 from a large number of perforations formed in theperforated bottom plate 21, perforated bent plate 22 and perforateddefining wall 23, returns into the liquid reservoir 1 1 from theopeninglS through the-circulating pipe 17 and through the opening 18,thus this cycle is repeated and the circulation is continued.

The perforated bottom plate 21 and the perforated bent plate 22 serve toregulate and prevent the twines of cloth a being swimmingly transferred,and facilitate the drawing up of the cloth a by the cloth driving reel9.

Thus, with the LOCO type overflow system cloth treating apparatusaccording to the present invention, it is possible to prevent thefloating-up of the cloth flowing in the liquid stream, so thatunevenness in treatment such as that of dyeing can be eliminated, andthe finishing state of the cloth can be much improved.

In the embodimental example shown above, the lower portion of the drumshaped vessel is defined into two chambers by means of the partitionwall and two guide tubes are provided, so that a large treating capacityof cloth can be obtained. However still larger treating capacity may beobtained when more than three chambers are provided by partition wallsand corresponding number of guide tubes are provided. Thus variouschanges and modifications may freely be effected, and it is of coursepracticable to use the lower portion of the vessel as a single stayingchamber, and to provide a single guide tube 14.

The apparatus according to the present invention is epoch-making as acloth treating apparatus of the socalled overflow type, the finishedstate of the cloth is unexcelled as compared to that obtained by any ofthe conventional means.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for treating cloth with liquid comprising alongitudinally extending horizontally arranged drum-shaped vessel havinga first end and an oppositely disposed second end, an accommodatingcylinder attached to the upper side of and extending upwardly from saidvessel adjacent its first end, the interior of said vessel and of saidaccommodating cylinder being in communication with one another, a clothdriving reel located within said accommodating cylinder above saidvessel, an overflow transfer mechanism positioned within saidaccommodating cylinder and extending downwardly into said vessel, saidoverflow transfer mechanism comprising a liquid reservoir having anupper edge within said accommodating cylinder located below said clothdriving reel, a guide tube located within said vessel and having aninlet dropping port at one end located within said liquid reservoir ofsaid overflow transfer mechanism below the upper edge of said reservoirand said guide tube extending from said transfer mechanismlongitudinally through said vessel toward the second end thereof, wallmeans located within said vessel below the longitudinally extendingportion of said guide tube and forming in combination with said vessel astaying chamber open at the top and said chamber extending in thelongitudinal direction of said vessel from adjacent its second end toadjacent its first end, the opposite end of said guide tube from saidinlet dropping port extending downwardly from the longitudinallyextending portion and communicating with said staying chamber adjacentthe second end of said vessel, said wall means including perforatedplates located adjacent the first end of said vessel and defining atleast in part the bottom of said staying chamber adjacent the first endof said vessel and the end of said staying chamber adjacent the firstend of said vessel, a circulating tube for circulating the liquid usedfor treating the cloth is connected at one end to a space within saidvessel defined between the bottom of said vessel and said perforatedplates and extending upwardly therefrom and connected at its oppositeend to said liquid reservoir within said overflow transfer mechanism, adevice located above the open top of said staying chamber for preventingcloth from floating in said staying chamber comprising at least onetrough extending horizontally and transversely of the longitudinaldirection of said vessel and located above the open top of said stayingchamber, and means for supplying liquid for treating the cloth from saidcirculating tube to said trough so that a part of the circulating liquidis caused to overflow from said trough and fall into said stayingchamber, so that when the liquid in said reservoir rises above saidinlet dropping port a flow of the liquid is created through said guidetube by the difference in head between the liquid level in saidreservoir and in said staying chamber and the flow of liquid throughsaid guide tube carries the cloth from said cloth driving reel throughsaid inlet dropping port into said guide tube and then through saidguide tube into said staying chamber and within said staying chamber thecloth is spread by the flowing circulating liquid as it moves toward thefirst end of said vessel and the cloth is prevented from floating up bythe downward flow of liquid from said trough and from the end of saidstaying chamber adjacent the first end of said vessel the cloth returnsto said cloth driving reel in said accommodating chamber.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the longitudinally extending portion of said guide tubeis rectangular.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction of the axisof said cloth driving reel is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe vessel.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein two of said perforatedplates are provided inside of said vessel.

5. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a plurality of saidstaying chambers separated from one another by said wall means extendlongitudinally through said vessel.

6. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means forsupplying the liquid used for treating the cloth from said circulatingtube to said trough comprises a branch pipe connected to saidcirculating tube at a point exterior of said vessel and extendingtherefrom into said vessel, and a horizontally arranged supply pipeconnected to said branch pipe and having discharge holes spaced alongits length in its lower surface, said supply pipe extending transverselyof the longitudinal axis of said vessel and located above said troughfor supplying liquid through its discharge holes into said trough.

1. An apparatus for treating cloth with liquid comprising alongitudinally extending horizontally arranged drum-shaped vessel havinga first end and an oppositely disposed second end, an accommodatingcylinder attached to the upper side of and extending upwardly from saidvessel adjacent its first end, the interior of said vessel and of saidaccommodating cylinder being in communication with one another, a clothdriving reel located within said accommodating cylinder above saidvessel, an overflow transfer mechanism positioned within saidaccommodating cylinder and extending downwardly into said vessel, saidoverflow transfer mechanism comprising a liquid reservoir having anupper edge within said accommodating cylinder located below said clothdriving reel, a guide tube located within said vessel and having aninlet dropping port at one end located within said liquid reservoir ofsaid overflow transfer mechanism below the upper edge of said reservoirand said guide tube extending from said transfer mechanismlongitudinally through said vessel toward the second end thereof, wallmeans located within said vessel below the longitudinally extendingportion of said guide tube and forming in combination with said vessel astaying chamber open at the top and said chamber extending in thelongitudinal direction of said vessel from adjacent its second end toadjacent Its first end, the opposite end of said guide tube from saidinlet dropping port extending downwardly from the longitudinallyextending portion and communicating with said staying chamber adjacentthe second end of said vessel, said wall means including perforatedplates located adjacent the first end of said vessel and defining atleast in part the bottom of said staying chamber adjacent the first endof said vessel and the end of said staying chamber adjacent the firstend of said vessel, a circulating tube for circulating the liquid usedfor treating the cloth is connected at one end to a space within saidvessel defined between the bottom of said vessel and said perforatedplates and extending upwardly therefrom and connected at its oppositeend to said liquid reservoir within said overflow transfer mechanism, adevice located above the open top of said staying chamber for preventingcloth from floating in said staying chamber comprising at least onetrough extending horizontally and transversely of the longitudinaldirection of said vessel and located above the open top of said stayingchamber, and means for supplying liquid for treating the cloth from saidcirculating tube to said trough so that a part of the circulating liquidis caused to overflow from said trough and fall into said stayingchamber, so that when the liquid in said reservoir rises above saidinlet dropping port a flow of the liquid is created through said guidetube by the difference in head between the liquid level in saidreservoir and in said staying chamber and the flow of liquid throughsaid guide tube carries the cloth from said cloth driving reel throughsaid inlet dropping port into said guide tube and then through saidguide tube into said staying chamber and within said staying chamber thecloth is spread by the flowing circulating liquid as it moves toward thefirst end of said vessel and the cloth is prevented from floating up bythe downward flow of liquid from said trough and from the end of saidstaying chamber adjacent the first end of said vessel the cloth returnsto said cloth driving reel in said accommodating chamber.
 2. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the longitudinally extending portion of said guide tubeis rectangular.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedirection of the axis of said cloth driving reel is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the vessel.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein two of said perforated plates are provided inside of saidvessel.
 5. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a plurality ofsaid staying chambers separated from one another by said wall meansextend longitudinally through said vessel.
 6. An apparatus, as set forthin claim 1, wherein said means for supplying the liquid used fortreating the cloth from said circulating tube to said trough comprises abranch pipe connected to said circulating tube at a point exterior ofsaid vessel and extending therefrom into said vessel, and a horizontallyarranged supply pipe connected to said branch pipe and having dischargeholes spaced along its length in its lower surface, said supply pipeextending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said vessel andlocated above said trough for supplying liquid through its dischargeholes into said trough.